Apprenticeship is the Ladder to Management for Construction Student Orláigh

SERC (South Eastern Regional College) Higher Level Apprentice Orláigh Rice was so sure of her ambitions that she had an employer lined up even before she had finished GCSEs. 

Now aged 19, Orláigh, who is from Dromara, says she approached Felix O’Hare and company after some of their team were working at her family’s business. She explains, “I was at grammar school and working for GCSEs, and it was generally expected that we would stay on at school afterwards, but I always knew more time in the classroom wasn’t for me. I grew up on a farm so I was always outside and with many of my family working in construction, including my dad and my uncles, I had a clear route in my mind.” 

Orláigh embarked on a Level 3 Apprenticeship and is now completing a Level 4 HLA (Higher Level Apprenticeship) in Construction Management. 

She loves the variety of this course:  “I am currently working  at the docks in Belfast and I am marking out levels for drainage, kerbs etc and then checking the work. It’s something different on each job and even every day there is variety and you’re learning something new. The day in college is different again – it’s a small group and we can get one to one support but there’s a lot of independent work on projects and assignments. It is quite separate from what I do on site at work but it all fits in.  

"My plan is to continue and get my Level 5 and perhaps then go to work in Australia for a year.   Ultimately, I can either go the management route or the engineering route but I think project management is my preference, management which draws on a solid engineering background.” 

Orláigh is keen to encourage other young women to explore the possibilities of the apprenticeship route, and to consider a career in construction. She says,

“I’ve had the chance to get involved in promoting the course during NI Apprenticeship Week last year and it’s good to get your voice heard as a woman in construction.  Two out of five of us in the class this year are girls. I know girls now leaving upper 6th and they are asking me about my route as they are looking for an alternative route to a career. 

“I would say to anyone, don’t assume Uni is the only way – don’t rule out college. You can get a good education, good opportunities, and no debt. It was definitely the right path for me.” 

You can find out more about Higher Level Apprenticeships at SERC here.